Chicago post #7

Chicago has been my favorite place for as long as I can remember. I have visited this city for countless years, and probably more times then I can count on both hands. The beauty of this city and the excitement behind traveling there, gives me the urge to go whenever I get the chance. Chicago has so much to offer and I love spending weekends there with people that I love.

The photo above was taken on the Sky Deck in Chicago. The two girls on the left are my sisters and the one right next to me, is my mom. These girls are who I normally experience traveling to Chicago with. On this exact trip, we went to the sky deck and went to a lot of sight seeing attractions. We also went to a restaurant called Dicks Last Resort, which was one of my favorite parts. In this restaurant, the servers are paid to be cocky and sarcastic towards you. I fit in very well under those circumstances, so I of course, had a blast. I will forever remember this specific time, solely because of that night at the restaurant when the waiter called my mom a MILF. 

This Chicago trip was spent with my three friends and one of their moms. We went more towards Christmas time, which was a really fun experience because the City was decorated beautifully. Christmas time in Chicago is one of my favorite times of all! Well, with 5 girls taking on the streets of Chicago, we did a lot of shopping and mostly just spent time spending money and weaving in and out of shops and stores. Miranda's mom took amazing pictures of us with the City as the back drop and I will cherish those photos forever. I was super thankful that she helped us capture every moment!

The most recent time I was in Chicago, was for my moms birthday. We go to the City for my mom's birthday each year, in august. We stayed in an incredible hotel, just steps away from the Magnificent Mile, which made our girls trip much more valuable because it was so close to the shopping mall and stores alone Michigan Avenue. Also, we visited the very well known Zoo right on the out skirts of the City, which we had never done before. One of our favorite attractions in Chicago is Shedd's Aquarium, which we have gone to every single time we travel there. Us girls love being able to see the animals up close and we even have been able to touch them! One place where we spend a lot of time is the mall. My little sister is in love with the American Girl Doll store and I know that place like the back of my hand. We love shopping and I'm sure you can imagine our handfuls of bags as we leave the Mall. Also, on this specific trip, we went to the extremely iconic Bean. We take a lot of fun pictures at this destination and think it is one of the coolest things to exist. The photo below is my mom and I with the Bean in the background.

Chicago is a beautiful place, that I look forward to visiting every time I go and will be traveling to in the future. The excitement and rush of the City is a feeling I hold onto and cherish forever. I am so excited to call Chicago home someday.

Clearwater Beach, post #6

Clearwater Beach, Florida was by far one of the most beautiful places I've been. I went on my senior spring break to this destination with my two friends, Mackenzie (brown hair) and Madelyn (blonde hair). We went with their families and stayed in a 5 story house and we actually had a whole story to ourselves! There were amazing views throughout the city and the beach was absolutely flawless. I was so blessed to have gotten to spend my senior spring break here.

To start out, the beaches here were mesmerizing. The sand was white as snow and the water was crystal clear and incredibly blue. As you can see in the photo above, I am not exaggerating at all on how beautiful the beaches are. Along the shoreline, there are just miles of shells that you can scavenger through. It was super cool because we actually all found a full sand dollar and hoped it wouldn't shatter on our travels back home.  We would lay on the beaches and tan and just laugh at how burned we were all getting. Our beach house was within walking distance to the beach so we got to come and go as we pleased so that was awesome for us and super convenient when we wanted to eat or nap!

Another fun experience was running to the pier each morning. My friend Mackenzie and I took the two mile run before we started each day and it was relaxing and fun for us. The pier also was a huge attraction at night. That week, there were vendors covering the whole pier, all the way to the end. Also there was entertainment each night, which made it even more interesting and fun to walk down there and see what it had to offer. In the photo underneath, that was one of the entertainers, who dressed and played the part of a pirate! There was also people doing stunts, paintings, and hair braiding. The pier was just an incredible attraction and helped make our trip full of fun and a different adventure each night.

Clearwater Beach also had fun things going on during the day. In the restaurant pictured above, there was live music and everyone working was super kind and funny. We went to eat at a different restaurant each time and they all had a memorable aspect and great food! Restaurants there were usually beach style and it was awesome that most of them had an outdoor patio for people to sit on because of the beautiful weather. Good food and restaurants were always easy to come across here.

The final thing I would have to say about Clearwater is that there is always a photo opprotunity. Each night, Wendy, Mackenzie's mom would take us down to the beach to take photos of us. There was a beautiful sunset every night and the tide was always perfect for us. After the sun would set, we would just sit on the beach and talk and laugh. I loved nights like those because we were making memories that would last us a lift time and I'm truly blessed to have gotten to travel with my friends and make our trip so memorable.

Mackinaw Island Blog post #5

Like any Michigander, I consider a great weekend away to be spent in Mackinaw Island. I have traveled to Mackinaw Island several times since I was little and I have memories from each time. My family and friends enjoy the road trip as well, so I always have a buddy to tag along with me! There are so many options when traveling to the Island and each time I arrive, I feel a new rush of excitement and look forward to a great day. I love the sights, the smells, and just the vibes of this small Island. The houses there are a sight all in themselves and the beautiful scenery is breathtaking.

My sister and I get a tandem bike every time we choose to bike around the Island. We usually stop to take pictures and get off our bike to walk around and sight see. Usually, when I have my sister (Brook) sit in the front, I take breaks and don't pedal, just so she can do all of the work. Brook and I always end up laughing and making memories on the bike because the only option we have while riding, is to talk to each other. The bike around the Island is 8.2 miles and we regret it about halfway each time. We do feel very fit and muscular after and usually brag about biking such a long distance.

The last time that I went to Mackinaw, I went with my four friends. My friend Mackenzie is pictured with me in the photo above. We didn't end up going to the Island on this day because when were getting our bikes prepared to take on the Ferry, Luke, our other friend cut his whole finger nail off. We ended up in the ER. He felt awful about putting an accidental damper on the day, so he said he felt good enough that we could walk around the city, grab some food, and shop around. We spent the day in the city and bought our souvenirs and ate lunch at a pub. It was a hectic but fun day and I didn't mind that it didn't go exactly as planned. 

I love Mackinaw and Mackinaw Island because I think it is just beautiful. The sight seeing is one of my favorite parts and is something I love seeing each time I go.

Cocoa Beach, Florida. Blog post #4

Cocoa Beach, Florida was absolutely ideal for a great Spring Break trip. I have traveled to Cocoa Beach twice with my friend Haley, her family, and some family friends of theirs. This trip was full of relaxing beach days, shopping trips to Ron Jons and crazy adventures! There are a few people who you will see in some photos. The girl in the photo above, is my friend Haley. There are two boys we were with, one is Haley's brother, Zac. The other is the family friend's son, Ryan.

To start off, Haley's grandma lives on the Banana River. We stayed with her because she had the extra space and was very inviting to all eight of us. A lot of the time, after a long day, we would go out on the dock and use a spotlight to see the large fish out of the water. Also, her neighbors had paddle boards, which we would stand on and trail through the water. Actually, I remember paddle boarding and seeing large whales just swimming right past us! It was an incredible experience being next to such a large creature, that you would usually only see at an aquarium. The boys, being the immature 18 year old that they were, would chase us in a little boat and try and knock us into the water. I, of course, got extremely mad and would rather have died then fall into waters that I was unfamiliar with. I was so grateful for Haley's grandmother for opening her home to us!

One of the most incredible things I've ever done, was fly a plane all on my own. There is an aviation program in Cocoa Beach that allows kids to go up and literally fly the plane on your own, with verbal guidance from the pilot. I never thought I would be able to do that in my lifetime and the fact that I also got my aviation certificate, made the experience even better. I will never forget how we spent the afternoon flying a plane and I will probably always brag about it! The pilot was so kind and trustworthy (which I probably would not let some kids fly my plane.) I was just in awe at the situation and know that I was very lucky to get to experience something so amazing.

Another incredible experience was completing a rope and zipline course above the Cocoa Beach Zoo! Usually, when you get there, they tell you the three levels of difficulty and you get to choose which one you would like to accomplish. When we were asked, the boys, answered for us. So, of course we ended up doing the most difficult course. As you can see, I am not exactly built to concur incredible strength courses but somehow, we did it. It was so amazing to see what the zoo looks like from above. It felt almost like an out of body experience, flying through the air and being at the top of the trees. Your safety was all up to you and whether you clipped and unclipped your harness correctly. My favorite part was probably the actual zip lining. I love heights and loved just soaring through the sky. I was so happy that we chose to follow with our plan to go to the Zoo that day.

At night, we would go to Ron Jons to shop. It didn't matter if we had anything to buy or not, we would still go and look around. It seems silly, but it always felt like they had something new each time we went and we had this weird idea in our head that we would miss out on something if we didn't go. We bought Boogie Boards from Ron Jons and would crash through the waves with them at the beach. We bought sweatshirts and sunglasses, and probably funded their business for a solid month. 

The final thing about Cocoa Beach, that I fell in love with, is their beaches. The sand was white and soft and felt like you were lounging on a tempurpedic mattress. It was spring break and there were a ton of people at each destination, and especially around the pier! We spent hours upon hours, laying on the beach and playing in the water when we got over heated. Sometimes, we would even walk down to the beach if no one else wanted to go with us. I loved the hot sun on my skin and hearing the waves crash up onto the shore. Cocoa Beach was absolutely perfect and I hope that I get to visit there again, sometime soon.